Leafs lose Carl Gunnarsson to separated shoulder

Toronto Maple Leafs lose Carl Gunnarsson to separated shoulder

TORONTO — Carl Gunnarsson’s season is over. By the looks of it, so is his world championship.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman separated his shoulder early in a 6-5 overtime loss to Buffalo on Tuesday night. A day later, the Swedish-born Gunnarsson acknowledged that the injury would probably force him to miss next month’s world championship in Stockholm and Helsinki.

“I don’t want to say anything now, because I’m seeing the doctors this afternoon and getting another evaluation of it,” said Gunnarsson, who won a silver medal with Sweden tournament, and bronze in 2010, and was considered a lock to participate again this year. The world tournament begins May 4.

“We’ll see what management says — if they want me on the team and they’re willing to take a chance for how long it’s going to take to heal.”

Head coach Randy Carlyle said it would take “four to six weeks until [Gunnarsson] gets to 100%, and obviously it takes him out of playing in the world championship.”

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Gunnarsson blamed himself for being unable to avoid a nast, but clean, hit from Marcus Foligno on the first shift of the game. The play happened deep in Toronto’s zone, with Gunnarsson circling around the net with the puck after a dump-in. As soon he turned the corner, the 6-foot-3, 227-pound Foligno was there with a bodycheck. The force of the collision sent Gunnarsson’s helmet flying into the air.

“I knew he was coming but I guess I tried to settle the puck a split-second too long,” Gunnarsson said. “I just thought I could spin off it in a better way, but he got me good. I’ve got myself to blame … Situations like that happen a lot during the season; this time I didn’t [get out of the way] and I’ve got to pay for it.”

Gunnarsson knew he was injured immediately, but tried to play through the pain for one more shift before heading to the dressing room.

“I was pissed off,” he said. “I was mad at myself for letting me get injured. I didn’t protect myself the way I should have. I just wanted to go out there and keep playing.”

The injury ends what had been a breakout season for the 25-year-old defeceman, whom captain Dion Phaneuf had called the most “underrated in the league.”

Playing on the top defensive unit, Gunnarsson had quietly put up four goals and 19 points — one short of his career high — in 76 games. But the big improvement was in ice time, where he was averaging 21 minutes, 42 seconds per game, up more than three minutes from last season.

“Compared to last year, I played better and was given a lot of confidence by the coaches,” Gunnarsson said. “I played in different situations, played against the top lines, on the power play in and out and [on the penalty kill]. From that standpoint, it was better than last year.”